SMITH'S THOUSAND AT BILLIARDS

Shannon News, 23 January 1925, Page 4

SMITH'S THOUSAND AT BILLIARDS

STORY OF- A MAGICAL GOLF BALL. NOVEMBER, 13, 1924. British golfers are amused by a story of a magical ball which it is said can be driven a.distance of six hundred yards. It need scarcely be saia that it comes from. America. The stor> runs that two dozen of these balls were made and that after being tested and the result told, the inventor was persuaded to destroy them, otherwise, if they were put into use, tne game would be killed. We are told that during the trial a ball wag driven to a hole measuring four hundred i yards, and that a full iron shot was required to play back to the green. If that sort of thing was to go on the length of courses would have to be stretched many miles. The English end of the story is that two or three of the balls have been smuggled into this country and that the same wonderful results have been achieved. But it i s like the amazing story which swept from end to end of the country during the War that a hundred thousand Russians—or more—had passed through London to the front in France. No one, however, saw a single Russian soldier, and no one has seen this astonishing gold ball. "As soon as I get to the other side I will write and tell you all aboutit Duncan said with a merry twinkle. It would be better still. I told him, if ne would send me one of the magical balls. , ' n . ; Duncan leaves for America next week in company with Abe Mitchell. Like Havers and Ockenden last winter they are going on a three months tour of the Pacific coast. It will he their third visit in five years, but their first experience of winter golf on the other side. But it is hardly an expen. ,mcnt, and in the new centre. which has been opned up in what is desscribed as the South of Prance of America, they will have many engagements for exhibition matches against leading American professionals who in these days leave the winter locked courses of New York and trek across the Continent. In addition, there are many tournaments with big money prizes, and though they are not likely to do as well as on former tours, Duncan and Mitchell should earn at least a thousand pounds. This was about the amount which Havers and Ockenden each made last winter and they were not very successful in tournaments. The trouble is that the courses on the Pacific coast are not very good. Most of them for instance have sand greens and these conditions are so unusual to the British player that ne is seriously (handicapped. Amazing Billiards.—Smith's Thousand I ' Break at Last. The billiards match between New. man and Smith proved to be the most remarkable and also the most sensational that has ever been played. ; Last week I told how Smith had failed for the third time to reach four figures when within easy reach of this total, and how his opponent had scored a wonderful break of 1370. But on the very next day Smith at last realised his highest ambition, compiling a break of 1173. As he neared the thousand mark it was obvious that he was very anxious, and one falsely played stroke caused him to lose position, but standing back from the table and chalking his cue as if to give himself time to control his nerves, he played a great recovering Shot and went merrily on. Ultimately he broke down at a simple red loser into a middle pocket. It was a shot which he would have made nineteen ■ times of of twenty, and he afterwards confessed that he only failed througn the acute strain which the scoring of 1000 points had imposed upon him. It was , however, not only because of

this brilliant effect on the part of Smith that the match was noteble. Five times he exceeded 600. These breaks were 1173, 983, 801, 726 and 639, which together gave him 4322 points. Newman also made runs or i 1370, 707, and 536. For the whole match, which extended oyer a fortnight, each visit of the table by Smith averaged 84, and by Newman B<*These two players who to-day dom. inate billiards in a more marked degree than any of their predecessors, came to the front in tne season 19211922. In the meantime, Newman nas made exactly 100 breaks exceeding 600 and his rival only one fewer Such scoring feats were unknown before the War, and there has been no change in either the conditions or the balls to account for them. At the same time everybody is making bigger breaks. For instance, last week Inman made one of 950, which is the high. est to his credit, and Reece his opponent also scored 648.

■, Phil Scott's Form Against Soldier Jones. i Mr Eugene Corri, your boxing correspondent writes: "Phil Scott has beaten Soldier Jones with many points to spare. Except for a few brief moments the fifth round, when the Canadian fought with tremendous vigour, Scott was always heading for victory. But although I would not discourage the former London fireman, I am bound to say that, i'a the matter of British heavy-weights, he has left us where we were.

"He did not in any important particular show that he had made headway since we saw him gainst Tom Heeney, the New Eealander. And yet I feel that he has been rather severely criticised. Outspoken comment, whether it has to do with boxi'ag or any other form of sport, must be; it is the duty of the eritic-to spread his ideas before the public in plain and understandable language. But criticism of a purely destructive kfad is not helpful, either to the game or those who practice it. Mere ruthleesness is just as harnifut as the high falutdn*. | "And, if I may, I would dissociate myself from those who profess to see but small .merit in the boding and fighting of Scott. It is wrong to ap- j proach Scott as other than a young man on the threshold of'his career. The idea that he was a sure champio'n of the near future should not have been; it could never be justified; and when Scott was judge'd by a standard so lofty, disappointment was bound to follow. We are all apt to apply a ' wrong prospective to our boxers; that is why, largely, they come and go so quickly. "Now Scott is anything. but a duffer; to my mind he remains a heavyweight of distinct promise, and it is possible that he will make completely good. It is perhaps as well that he has not gone off with a bang; had he done so the chances are that we should have heard people shouting his claims j for a fight with Dempsey. At least | he would have been encouraged to bar none of the big fellows. And he would have undoubtedly suffered. "Nothing so amused me as, when there was talk about Dempsey wanting to fight in Europe, the name of Scott was mentioned as one of the few men who might give the champion .a run for his money. Which, of course, was absm*d, and if Scott happened upon the suggestion,, I hope he did no more than chuckle. I do not think that Scott has any false notions, of what he can and cannot do. I have found him to be, a sensible young fellow, and he will not deny, I am sure, *hat he is little removed from the beginner's stage. "He 1 certainly has a great deal to learn, and most decidedly do I feel that he is capable of learning. If I were Scott I should first make myself sure that, for the purposes of fighting no man need wish for a finer physical equipment, and so acquire confidence from the fact that he is big enough , for anything. Mental strength,, by which I mean the power as represented by a well balanced brain, is among the first essentials a fighter must have, and, so far as I have come to understand Scott, his fighti'ag headpiece is not at present all that it should be. He seems to doubt himself at crucial. moments, as Bom- j bardier Wells so often did.

"1 anj, of course, all for modesty, but next time out Scott will.be stones better if he gets into the ring absolutely sure that he will win, and that' ho has it in him • to knock any man out. But it is most important of all Ithat he should never spare the other fellow; in what contests I have seen him he has favoured half measures; he has not been a whole hogger. By this I do not mean that he is short of grit. What he lacks is an inflexible determination to finish his work thoroughly. There is small place in the ring for the kind-hearted fighter. 'lf Scott had had more of the devil in him when he fought Jones, the Canadian, though a man of undying courage, would never have been o'n his feet at the end of 15 rounds. It is Scott's shortage of viciousness that has led most people to believe that he will.find it difficult, if not next to impossible to get out of the rut which he himself suggests he has got into.

"When I "saw him win the Crystal Palace tournament,' he pulled out a right hander of a particularly wicked kind, and because he knew that he did so, I fear.he has been led to believe that he must give his right hand the fullest possible play. If such is his idea, he -has made a mistake. He will b e wise if in the immediate future lie forgets all about his right ha'nd, and concentrates upon the proper employment of the left. Someone must get hold of him to teach him the business of the left hand, which in his .case, because of his extraordinary reach, could be made into a considerable winder. "Against Jones he oftener than not did no more than stick his left haEd out. He puts no powder into it. How few of our boxers realise what a tremendous weapon the left hand, delivered straight and with weight behind it, is l Scot must have bumped

into him an appreciation of its devastating qualities. "Now for Soldier Jones. I honestly thing that he is less formidable than when he paid his first visit to Ltfadon. He miade a very serious attempt to box in a well-ordered way at headquarters, but I am, afraid he has arrived at an age when he will find that the learning of boxing is beyond him. If he is to enjoy more than eu fair measure of success, he will do Ma fighting by instinct and not after any stereotyped principles. He is a very brave man, this Jones. I wish I could pay him a greater compliment. Jack Stanley's Hope.

"Harry Reeve failed to make good against Jack Stanley,, who suggests that he would make a fitting oppo-ne-.it for Scott, and may be that the two will be brought together. Scott must continue to court work; and for a time at any rate terms must be his last consideration. A Capital fcad.

"We were all very interested in Johnny Sullivan's appeara'ace against Ted Coveney, who has done quite a lot of fighting lately, We were intrigued by Sullivan for the reason that we were anxious to see whether he had profited by his experiences against Tommy Milligati. lam pleased to say •that he has; and if this boy—he is still in his teens—continues to apply his mind to fighting, with the same earnestness that he hag so far shown, "He is rather too fond of chanci"ag his right hand—this, I suspect, is because for a time he worked with Carpentier. Perhaps without knowing it, he copies the Frenchman slavishly, he will go far. \ There is a danger of his carrying the imitation too far. But there, is one so you"ag, we must expect a tendency to idolatory in the matter of heroworship!"